188 
A KITCHEN GARDEN 
ground to form hills, which soon dry out and are 
difficult to water.* 
The only plant requiring hills or ridges is the 
Sweet Potato. Throw several furrows together with 
a plow and draw the soil up with a hoe, to form a 
tapering ridge, two feet high and three feet wide at 
the bottom. The plants, which are obtained by 
planting the tubers in a hotbed, are planted two feet 
apart on top of this ridge. Being of tropical origin, 
the sweet potato plants should never be planted till 
danger from frost is over. One hoeing is generally 
sufficient, as the vines soon cover the ridge, but these 
should not be allowed to take root, as that diminishes 
the productiveness of the plant. Late varieties are 
of better quality than the early ones. 
PEPPERS, GUMBO AND LEEKS- 
No garden is complete without at least a few plants 
of peppers, gumbo and leeks. To grow Peppers to 
perfection, the young plants should be grown in the 
hotbed and be transplanted to very rich soil, from 
twelve to eighteen inches apart, according to variety. 
When they commence blooming, a liberal quantity 
of hen manure should be strewn around each plant 
and be hoed in. This will increase the product 
* We think that the melons, cucumbers, etc., get a better start (and we 
would include the pole beans) when the hill for seed is raised slightly 
above the surface, as it greatly lessens the danger of the jmung seedlings 
‘‘damping off,” and instead of the watering, which is here claimed to be 
necessary, we would suggest a thorough loosening of the soil around the 
roots.—E d. 
